Instrumental US prog rock trio Lux Terminus launched their second album, Cinder, final month. The band characteristic keyboardist Vikram Shankar (who additionally options in Silent Skies and performs reside with Ache Of Salvation), bassist Brian Craft and drummer Matthew Kerschner. The trio launched their debut album, The Braveness To Be in 2018
“Cinder, for us, is a musical reflection of our core imaginative and prescient as an artist,” the band say. “We intention to create instrumental music the place the piano and keyboards are on the forefront, breaking free from their normal function as a supporting component in progressive metallic. It’s essential that melody, dynamics, and emotion stay on the coronary heart of the songwriting, whilst we push technicality and ‘djenty’ heaviness to the restrict. Cinder is about burning with depth and danger—creating passionate, vibrant artwork that challenges each private limits and standard boundaries.”
Shankar took outing of his busy schedule to decide on his 5 favorite instrumental prog albums so that you can take pleasure in…
1: PLINI – HANDMADE CITIES (2016)
A contemporary basic, and with good motive. Plini manages to strike a outstanding steadiness between technical mastery and considerate melodicism, and the melodies and moods all through the album are really gorgeous. I additionally love the nice and cozy, natural manufacturing, which manages to have a up to date degree of punch however nonetheless sound satisfyingly pure.
2. DAVID MAXIM MICIC – WHO BIT THE MOON (2017)
Just like the above, Who Bit The Moon is a kind of albums that blends instrumental excellence and melodic storytelling – a top quality that I attempt for in my very own writing with Lux Terminus as nicely. David Maxim Micic’s fashion has a cinematic grandeur that I discover extraordinarily charming, and his writing is all the time clever and mature.
3. PLANET X – QUANTUM (2007)
My very own private style sometimes leads me to favor progressive music that emphasises ambiance and melody, however Quantum’s formidable brilliance is not possible to disclaim. All instrumentalists are firing on all cylinders, and the extent of mastery on all the Planet X information holds up remarkably nicely at the moment – a formidable feat contemplating the quantum leaps (no pun meant) that appear to happen within the technical sphere with every passing 12 months.
4. INTERVALS – CIRCADIAN
Some of the particular points of Intervals for me is the electrifying power of the writing. Whereas hitting a number of marks that many unbelievable trendy prog artists do, equivalent to heaviness and instrumental talent, additionally they handle to create a sure infectious character, each within the melodic writing and in manufacturing and association, that makes Intervals music charming for me even after I discover myself fatigued by progressive music (it occurs to one of the best of us!).
5. JORDAN RUDESS – RHYTHM OF TIME
So far as I’m involved, Jordan’s solo albums are iconic for us trendy keyboard gamers, with dazzling virtuosity residing alongside passionate artistry. Whether or not taking part in extraordinarily technically or with soulful maturity, Jordan exudes a real love for the craft of music making that’s palpable in each be aware. In that regard I might seemingly nominate any of Jordan’s solo albums to incorporate on this checklist, however the writing on Rhythm of Time has a sure ‘spark’ that I discover merely simple.